i recently bought a Guild X-175 Manhattan from the actual production series.
I love the neck and all the other specs, but i can't get along with P-90s. Thats the hard lesson that I learned with this baby.
Now I have the question should i sell it or switch the pickups to Humbuckers. I know there are only a view manufactures out there who have a exactly fitting pickup of the type P-90s with dog Ears but Humbucker inside.
One more thing that could be better is the feedback. But I think thats just with what you have to live if you love bigger jazz boxes.
What is it about the p-90 pickups that you don't like? Some day I would like to get a p-90 equipped archtop. Every one that I have tried I have liked - very cool sounds.
I always look at playability and the acoustic sound of a guitar first because if I like those the electronics can always be changed/upgraded. So if the guitar pleases you unplugged I'd keep it and explore the options for pups. I believe there's a company that makes a P90 cover to hold a humbucker but I'm not sure if it's just their humbucker or not.
Your guitar does not have P90s, but Guild's own version of them. Soundwise perhaps very close, but I think dimensions are different, so a humbucker-in-P90-cover might not fit without modification.
But the Creamery makes P90-sized humbuckers: The Creamery
Last edited by Little Jay; 04-15-2017 at 11:55 AM.
P-90 pickups are allright for me, but I wish the covers were black instead of cream white. They don't merge quite well with the guitar, they look like an afterthought...and still, humbuckers would be a better choice, IMHO.
Sell it and get the guitar that works for you. Better than guessing how the other solutions might sound and then spending the money to find out if you were right.
All these options, but you will probably need to modify something to get them to fit. If it's just drilling new screw holes, you'll be OK, but be careful and do it correctly. You may also have to enlarge the opening for different p/ups. Again, use care. Maybe a custom made unit? is what's needed, as the photo above shows, there are no "dog ears", tabs for mounting the P/up.
Last edited by Jimmy Mack; 06-18-2017 at 10:01 PM.
¿Maybe the same pickup in different configuration and mounting system?
Mounting ring screwed directly to the body and then the pickup screwed to the ring.
Just be sure and consider resale before you start modifying the top. A lot of "upgrades" on less expensive guitars will reduce resale value. I tend to agree with Jim Soloway. If you're not just completely enamored with everything else about the guitar, I'd consider cutting your losses and trying something else.
Another option might be to have someone install new insides to the pickups that are on the guitar now. When the Tone Spectrum pickup died on my 1951 Epiphone Zephyr Regent, Lindy Fralin installed a new pickup inside it.
i recently bought a Guild X-175 Manhattan from the actual production series.
I love the neck and all the other specs, but i can't get along with P-90s. Thats the hard lesson that I learned with this baby.
Now I have the question should i sell it or switch the pickups to Humbuckers. I know there are only a view manufactures out there who have a exactly fitting pickup of the type P-90s with dog Ears but Humbucker inside.
One more thing that could be better is the feedback. But I think thats just with what you have to live if you love bigger jazz boxes.
2 things: The pickups are not exactly shaped like p-90's so I don't think you can retrofit without some work. Also: I have the same guitar, and in the beginning I had some feedback problems. Here's how I fixed them: I took off the covers and unscrewed the 4 screws that mount the coil to the top. Then I added about 2mm of rubber hose (like the kind used for bike valves) to the screws so the pickup is now no longer mounted directly to the top. Put the covers back on - no more feedback!
I've never been one to measure action that precisely, but for fingerstyle playing I'd certainly like it lower than if I was playing rhythm with a pick...
I'd probably want it right about where my...
Yep. Charles is good. But how would he sound if he were playing upright, improvising most of the music, and supporting others in a trad style? We dunno. Gonna drop this argument.
I've had them, tweaking both guitars and amps (and even a couple of pedals!) over the years, in an effort to get them EXACTLY as I want them to be.
After years of following this approach, I have...
Fun to see NKC singing with someone else playing piano – especially Peterson. He was a big fan of NKC, and recorded With Respect to Nat, singing as well as playing. It made me wish he'd sung more.
I'm with you on both counts. That said, I do like the 6L6 sound as well, so it would be nice if I could get a "best of both worlds" setup. They say that a KT77 can straddle those two worlds,...
I like EL34s, so I wouldn't be interested in swapping the power tube out. EL34s, in general, give a thick, meaty tone. Which is what I am also after. The EL34 is one of the reasons I took a chance on...
And yet I think that's exactly what you're doing when playing from a chord sheet or (from a more familiar, early music universe) playing a figured bass. Some players really have an enormous mental...
I don’t think you should label anything you play in the midst of an improvisation. It has to be sounds (not concepts) all the way during performance (as opposed to when practising). I once asked Jim...
Hi,
I know not many here play purely unplugged acoustic fingerstyle on their archtops, but what would be the (your) sweet spot for action height under the 1st, 6th and 3rd strings?
Before...
Both of these versions are very nicely played. Barry Greene recently did a video lesson on this tune. In typical Barry fashion, he explains how he comes up with the his arrangement which is very...
Of course, every different instrument you learn adds something (if you manage not to let it distract you from your main instrument and all that). But no, I wasn't joking about using a fretless to get...
The first thing I think about is how much I have to offer them lol. Back in NYC I had a list of drummers and bass players and I knew their price points. Usually if the gig is well paid no trouble...
I also recommend Functional ear trainer. Notes with reference to a key centre more useful than intervallic at least for beginners
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Action height for acoustic fingerstyle archtop?
Today, 08:06 AM in The Builder's Bench